Health News You Can Use

Teri Mills is a longtime Democracy For America community member. Her guest column on health care appears on Blog for America on Fridays and she blogs at nationalnurse.blogspot.com.

The October 12th issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association reports that total cholesterol levels are declining in men over 60 years of age and women older than 50. Cholesterol levels are affected by age, genetics, and our diet. The authors of this study believe the main reason for the decrease in lipid levels is because more health care providers are prescribing medications called statins. Probably most of you have seen commercials for these medications on television. The good news is that for every one percent decrease in LDL (low density lipoprotein which is the bad cholesterol in your blood) there is a one percent decrease for the risk of developing coronary heart disease.

Feeling stressed by what you read on Blog for America? Go outside and take a walk. An exercise specialist at Duke University found that exercise amount seems to be more important than intensity for achieving gains in cardiovascular fitness. So there is no need to become a weight builder or tryout for a football team. Walking briskly in your neighborhood for about two miles a day will do the trick for improving your health.

Finally, if you are troubled with forgetfulness, and need to be in top form for your next event with Howard or Jim Dean, you might want to consider adding fish to your diet. Weekly fish consumption may slow age-related cognitive decline. Doctors are not really sure why this is, but claim the rate of age-related memory decline in frequent fish consumers was ten to thirteen percent slower than those who rarely eat fish. This translates to being three to four years younger in age. So when you plan your weekly menu, be sure to add fish.

—Teri Mills, RN, MS, ANP
Democracy for Oregon

Cross-posted at Blog for America.

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